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Other Countries Seem To Like Tariffs… So Why Are People Opposed To Trump’s Tariffs?

Via The Daily Signal,

April 3, President Donald Trump announced it as “Liberation Day.” And by that he meant we were going to be liberated from asymmetrical tariffs of the last 50 years. And it was going to inaugurate a new what he called “golden age” of trade parity, greater investment in the United States, but mostly, greater job opportunities and higher-paying jobs for Americans.

And yet, the world seemed to erupt in anger. It was very strange. 

Even people on the libertarian right and, of course, the left were very angry. The Wall Street Journal pilloried Donald Trump.

But here’s my question. 

China has prohibitive tariffs, so does Vietnam, so does Mexico, so does Europe. 

So do a lot of countries. 

So does India. 

But if tariffs are so destructive of their economies, why is China booming? 

How did India become an economic powerhouse when it has these exorbitant tariffs on American imports? 

How did Vietnam, of all places, become such a different country even though it has these prohibitive tariffs? 

Why isn’t Germany, before its energy problems, why wasn’t it a wreck? It’s got tariffs on almost everything that we send them. 

How is the EU even functioning with these tariffs?

I thought tariffs destroyed an economy, but they seem to like them. And they’re angry that they’re no longer asymmetrical. 

Apparently, people who are tariffing us think tariffs improve their economy. Maybe they’re right. I don’t know.

The second thing is, why would you get angry at the person who is reacting to the asymmetrical tariff and not the people who inaugurated the tariff?

Why is Canada mad at us when it’s running a $63 billion surplus and it has tariffs on some American products at 250%. Doesn’t it seem like the people who started this asymmetrical—if I could use the word—trade war should be the culpable people, not the people who are reluctantly reacting to it?

Sort of like Ukraine and Russia. Russia invaded Ukraine. Do we blame Ukraine for defending itself and trying to reciprocate? No, we don’t. We don’t blame America because it finally woke up and said, “Whatever they tariff us we’re gonna tariff them.” 

Which brings up another question: Are our tariffs really tariffs?

That is, were they preemptive? Were they leveled against countries that had no tariffs against us? Were they punitive? No. They’re almost leveled on autopilot. Whatever a particular country tariffs us, we reciprocate and just mirror image them. And they go off anytime that country says, “It was a mistake. We’re sorry. You’re an ally. You’re a neutral. We’re not going to tariff this American product.” And we say, “Fine.” Then the autopilot ceases and the automatic tariff ends. In other words, it’s their choice, not ours. We’re just reacting to what they did, not what we did.

Couple of other questions that I’ve had. We haven’t run a trade surplus since 1975—50 years. So, it wasn’t suddenly we woke up and said, “It’s unfair. We want commercial justice.” No. We’ve been watching this happen. For 50 years it’s…

Tariff Turmoil Delays Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Orders; Will This Derail Goldman’s Bull Call On Mario Kart-Maker

We suspect Goldman analysts Minami Munakata and Haruki Kubota will soon update clients on today’s report from The Verge. The report reveals that Nintendo is delaying preorders for the new Switch 2 due to the fallout from President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff blitz and China’s retaliatory measures, which are roiling global markets and trade. 

Nintendo spokesperson Eddie Garcia told The Verge:

Preorders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions. Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.

Nintendo plans to launch the Nintendo Switch 2 (the successor to the Nintendo Switch) on June 5. There’s still no word from Garcia about when preorders will begin. 

There’s still no word on Switch 2 pricing following the new effective tariff rate of 24% on Japanese goods, as The Verge noted.

The Switch 2 costs $449.99 and comes with several upgrades, including a larger 7.9-inch 1080p display, 256GB of storage, and a C-button for in-game chats. We don’t know yet whether the Switch 2 or its accessories will go up in price in response to the tariffs. The Switch 2 is already significantly more expensive than its $299 predecessor, while its games have a steeper $69.99 to $79.99 price.

Last month, Goldman analysts Minami Munakata and Haruki Kubota were super bulls on Nintendo, noting that “the global games market re-entered a growth phase since 2024” and forecasted “the number of active consoles to continue renewing fresh highs globally from 2025.”

Their bullishness in the gaming industry was mainly because Switch 2 would “unlock dormant hardware and dormant users” and send “the number of active consoles to continue to renew record highs.” 

However, with tariffs in play, the Switch 2 and its accessories will likely be priced higher. That raises a key question for the analysts—likely to be addressed in a client note this weekend:

Will the increased cost of the device prompt a revision to their active console forecast?

And, in turn, could a downward revision in the forecast trigger a 12mo price target cut for Nintendo shares in Tokyo?

. . . 

Tyler Durden
Sat, 04/05/2025 – 07:35…

Escobar: How Trump’s Tariff Tizzy Is Burning Down The House

Authored by Pepe Escobar,

Global Majority, rejoice! And step on the high-speed rail de-dollarization train.

Circus ringmaster Trump’s Tariff Tizzy (TTT), christened by himself as “Liberation Day”, is being largely interpreted around the world – Global North and Global South alike – as Slaughterhouse Day.

This de facto uncontrolled economic demolition gambit starts with the warped fantasy that launching a customs war on China is a bright idea. As bright as collecting a few trillion extra dollars in tariffs assuming the rest of the planet will be somewhat “encouraged” to sell to the Hegemon, while pretending that these tariffs will lead to the re-industrialization of the U.S.

The tragicomic mask of a self-appointed circus ringmaster of turbo-capitalism may be as pathetic as the European chihuahua rage boosting their “revenge” via Rearmament – with funds that they plan to steal from the savings accounts of unsuspecting citizens.

The indispensable Michael Hudson has configured the key problem. Allow me a little tweak: “Sanctions and threats are the only thing that the United States has left. It no longer can offer other countries a win-win situation, and Trump has said that America has to be the net gainer in any international deal it’s made, whether it’s a financial deal or a trade deal. And if America is saying, any deal we make, you lose, I win”, that Mafia extortion gambit does not exactly reflect the Art of the Deal.

Prof. Hudson neatly describes Trump’s negotiation tactics: “When you don’t have very much to offer economically, all you can do is offer not to hurt other countries, not to sanction them, not to do something that will be against their interest.” Now, with TTT, Trump is actually “offering” to hurt them all. And they will certainly invest in all sorts of counter-tactics to “get away” from that “strategy” of American “diplomacy”.

A trade war on Asia

TTT attacks everyone, especially the EU (“born to hurt us”, according to the circus ringmaster. Wrong, because the EU was invented by the Americans in 1957 to actually keep Europe under control). The EU exports roughly 503 billion euros to the U.S. a year, while importing around 347 billion. Trump is fuming non-stop about this surplus.

So a counter-measure vendetta will be inevitably in store, as already advertised by the toxic Medusa von der Lugen in Brussels – incidentally the sponsor of every weapons producer in Europe.

Yet TTT is above all a trade war on Asia. “Reciprocal” tariffs – not exactly reciprocal – were imposed on China (34%),Vietnam (46%), India (26%), Indonesia (32%), Cambodia (49%), Malaysia (24%), South Korea (25%), Thailand (36%), earthquake-hit Myanmar (44%), Taiwan (32%) and Japan (24%).

Well, even before TTT, a first has been achieved: the circus ringmaster generated a once-in-a-lifetime consensus among China, Japan and South Korea that their response will be coordinated.

Japan and South Korea will import semiconductor raw materials from China, while China will be purchasing chips from Japan and South Korea. Translation: TTT will solidify “supply chain cooperation” among this triad…

Democrats Activate NGO Machine For Weekend Color Revolution Operation Against Trump

The Democratic Party’s favorability among Americans has plunged to a record low. In an attempt to reverse this decline, the rudderless party of leftist lunatics has openly launched a domestic color revolution—facilitated by a shadowy network of billionaire-funded NGOs.

Initially, the operation targeted Elon Musk and DOGE; now, the leftist NGO machine is gaining momentum and redirecting total mobilization efforts at President Trump on Saturday in nationwide protests called “Hands Off!”… 

Protest Map 

Hands Off 2025’s website shows that 186 NGOs, unions, and other leftist groups support the mass mobilization effort of crazed leftists.

Color revolutions have generally been used in overseas operations by US intelligence agencies for regime change purposes. The American people have seen domestic color revolutions before, such as the BLM riots, which were aimed at manipulating public sentiment, shaping perception, and controlling the emotional atmosphere during Trump’s first term. 

Now, the unhinged Democratic Party is at it again, trying to build on Tesla protests and firebombings of showrooms and vehicles by using mass protests and civil disobedience to shape sentiment around Trump in his second term. 

The only problem Democrats face this time is that a taxpayer-funded color revolution—channeled through USAID into their NGO network—will be much harder to pull off now that grant awards have been frozen and USAID has been rolled into the State Department, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio providing oversight.

Summer of Love begins… 

Tyler Durden
Fri, 04/04/2025 – 18:00…